Spare the Rod Spoil the Child
by Moxie3
Summary: Dante's dreams have been troubling lately, and when he encounters an ancient demonic spirit encased in a young girl, things don't get any easier, especially when sacrifical cults are involved. Being my first DMC fanfiction, Reviews graciously appreciated.
1. The decent into the darkest days

Through sweat soaked slumber, Dante, tossed and turned as he sank further and further into a distress filled sleep. He wasn't sure if he was having a dream or a vision. A small girl, who seemed to eminate a very iold/i soul within her, was standing before him, dressed in flowing black robes, a hand over her heart, her other hand extended to him, presenting a pendant on a chain to him. He could not see it, lifting his head to look into the child's dark eyes, she looked down again, and when he followed her gaze, the pendate that was lying in her palm before, had turned to blood, and the pool dripped from her hand, onto a body, rolling down the obscured face, and to the ground, pooling there. Looking up again, the child was gone, without so much as a trace. Soon after he was bombarded with images of more blood, more bodies, the last of which causing him to sit up straight in bed, large drops of sweat rolling down his tanned brow, stark white hair matted and sticking to his forehead and cheeks. Hell, he hadn't had a decent nights sleep in weeks. Perhaps some work would calm him down. Upon entering his P.I's office, "Devil May Cry" he was pleased to find the agency empty, save for a black cat, whom had taken the liberty of sitting upon his cluttered desk top.. Everything below it, soaked in a pool of blood, the cat stood up on all four paws, before hopping to a nearby window seal, looking to Dante, giving a hiss, and jumping down the fire escape to safety. "Now that was just damn strange." He murmured, before looking back to his thought ruined desk, only to find that there was not a drop of liquid upon it. "This day just gets stranger, and stranger.." he hissed with an agitated frown until he felt a familiar presence behind him. "Is it so strange?" Spinning about, he was met by the girl from his dreams, dressed in a school uniform of some Catholic school. The plain blue skirt, white long-sleeved shirt, mary jane shoes and ankle socks almost made her seem too ordinary, if it weren't for her eyes. Such things give demons away, and the young girl, was absolutely no exception. A violin case hung over her right shoulder, a light blue knit sweater tied about her waist, lank ringlets of ebon hair hung to her waist, and about her neck, hung a gem, blood red in color, yet shone black in the correct light. "Who the hell are you?" Dante demanded as he narrowed his eyes, gripping Ebony and Ivory tightly, training them both toward the floor as if to be ready to fire them at a moment's notice. "I have no name. I am far too old to possesses one, or have the need for one." She replied with a gentle, yet curt and authoritative smile. 


	2. The past, and what could very well be th...

Arching a brow, Dante allowed the girl's words to sink into his aural membranes.  
  
"Come again?"  
  
With a faint, yet all knowing smile, she put down her violin case on his desktop, moving past him to do so, his weapons stirring no fears within her.  
  
"I have no name."  
  
"So what are you? An orphan or something?"  
  
"You could say that."  
  
Sitting down upon the desk, she crossed her legs politely, smoothing out her skirt beneath her painfully delicate hands.  
  
"Your mind reels with thoughts of what I am, or could be, why do you not ask me yourself?" Looking up, ancient eyes scanned over him, almost commanding his obedience, or perhaps, seeing into his very soul.  
  
"You could say that."  
  
Removing his trench coat he sat behind his desk, leaning back in the swivel chair, hands flat atop the other on his stomach. Something told him he ought to get comfortable in order to hear this one.  
  
"I come to earth once every thousand years, I am charged with protecting this gem, with my life."  
  
Holding up the object in question, it caught the sun's light, gleaming blood red streams of light across the floor, and over Dante's body, then suddenly turned pitch black, as if absorbing the very energy of the light its self.  
  
"It was given to me, after my birth, by your father himself. I don't have parents, I was born of true darkness, one of the few to survive such an entry into life."  
  
He was listening to her fully now, taking in her ever word.  
  
"Born of true darkness, what the hell does that mean?"  
  
She gave another faint all knowing smile.  
  
"There are three of us, that were born into the darkness, three ancient spirits whom each have one of these stones to protect with our very lives, your father entrusted the three of us with them. If you must call me anything, call me Ophelia, my two siblings, if you will, are Cain, and Abel, but I haven't felt their vibrations in days. I fear, that something terrible has befallen them."  
  
"If you're as ancient as you say, why do you need my help?"  
  
"You're too the point, I commend that."  
  
Giving him a curt nod, she sighed, then got to the relative point of her story.  
  
"My comrades and myself, come to earth, every thousand years, to uphold the balance of good and evil, we do so, with these gems. What is evil can always be reversed, just as what is good, can always be distorted into what is not. My siblings and I represent three virtues, I am wisdom, Cain is virtue, and Abel is strength. Those two are inseparable, and I highly doubt that they are just off playing some trick on me. They went missing three days ago, and I've had no luck attempting to trace their whereabouts."  
  
"Alright, alright kid, get to the point, what do you think is going on?"  
  
She gave another, faint smile.  
  
"There is a cult, in league with the Dark Prince himself, whom wish to have these stones returned to him. When Sparta gave them to us, he bound them to our souls, in order to make sure no one could take them while we were infants. They were originally the Dark Princes', and now, he wants them back. Do you realize what he could do if he had them?"  
  
Dante frowned, not liking the way this was going at all.  
  
"He could control the balance of good and evil at his will, he would have this world, and all others in his utmost control, and evil would be allowed to reign for all time itself."  
  
Standing up, he gave a smirk, patting Ebony and Ivory in their holsters beneath his shoulders.  
  
"Not while I'm around, kid, I promise you that. I'll help you, but you better be able to take care of yourself when you need to. Understood?"  
  
Nodding, she looked up to him as she lowered herself off the desk.  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"Just what is this cult you're speaking of? Do they have a name?"  
  
"They are called the order of the Nine Dark Kings. All of them are loyal followers of the Dark Prince; all made kings under his power for their loyalty to him when he attempted to take over heaven, and all rewarded for their deeds done in hell. For their strategic skill, and cunning, he had a castle built for each of them, on islands, scattered on all the seas, there is on no map that holds a record of any of them. When ancient sailors spoke of sea monsters, they most likely found the waters near one of these castles, and naturally, the guardians of these places retaliated."  
  
"I see. Well then, let's get going, shall we?"  
  
"There is no time to take this affair lightly! This is a matter of eternity!"  
  
He smiled faintly, shaking his head before running one gloved hand back through platinum strands.  
  
"Don't worry, while I'm around, you're absolutely safe."  
  
Sighing heavily, the girl touched the stone about her neck, her fingertips running down the cool edge, as she closed her eyes, hoping this feeling of foreboding, and doubt left her, before it was too late for them, and man kind. 


End file.
